Science Policy Around the Web – December 12, 2011

Real Science vs. Fake Science: How Can You Tell Them Apart? – How can non-scientists (and even scientists) tell when claims about a product or process are shaky, exaggerated, or just plain false? Here are 10 questions you should ask before shelling out your hard-earned money – (by Emily Willingham on Double X Science)

Scientists Have Trouble Accessing Human Embryonic Stem Cell Lines – “A survey of more than 200 human embryonic stem cell researchers in the United States found that nearly four in ten researchers have faced excessive delay in acquiring a human embryonic stem cell line and that more than one-quarter were unable to acquire a line they wanted to study.” – (by Abby Robinson via Georgia Tech Research News)

Affordable Solar Power…Is Here – A Michigan Tech professor’s study “shows that solar photovoltaic systems are very close to achieving the tipping point in many regions: they can make electricity that’s as cheap— sometimes cheaper—than what consumers pay their utilities.” Their results conclude that solar power is also cheaper than previously calculated, due to solar panels being more durable than previously estimated. Also mentioned is the large part that government subsidies on renewable energy plays in keeping solar power’s price-per-watt low. (via Michigan Technological University press release)

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